A Strange Love?
by AngieCarol
Summary: AU. Tsurara, a human girl who work as the shrine maiden met up with Rikuo, the youkai who is the young head of the Nura Clan. Will the flower of love bloom between them? And what's this connection with his memory? Contain some H!Rikuo x Tsurara, too. Please RnR. Chap.7 update.
1. Meeting between them

**Warning: Grammar errors. Like always. And maybe some OOC? Anyway, this is a beginning of a romance. **

**Summary: Tsurara is human, a shrine maiden. She met up with the young head of Nura Clan, Nura Rikuo. Will the flower of love bloom between them?** **  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Nura-Mago. I borrow it's characters.  
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**A_Carol: Okay, my second fanfiction story. This time, it really contain romance between Tsurara and Rikuo. But I don't know if it good or not. **

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><p>The middle-school already finished. Every student was going home pretty fast. Tsurara ran off to her house, a temple, as quickly as she can. There, she was trying to wear her miko clothes faster, but even if she was already wore it many times before, she keep having some difficulties with it. From the outside, she can already heard the sounds of chattering, which meant people were already coming to pray. After finished changing, she quickly wore her lovely red ribbon like a bandana and ran off outside, a little carefully , though, because she might fall of because of her long skirt. When she was already outside, people greet her.<p>

"Hey, Tsurara-chan! How's your school?"

"Work hard as always, huh, Tsurara?"

"That miko clothes always fit you, Tsurara!" Tsurara smiled at them.

"Thanks everyone! Please, take your time praying here!" she said cheerfully with a loud voice. Most of the people who come here already know Tsurara, since she is the miko of the shrine. The shrine was pretty popular, people come here to pray for their hope to come true or else. It's one of the shrine where people loved to make a visit. Tsurara always happy when a lot of people came here.

"Well, then. If you'll excuse me, I will take a look around to confirmed that everything goes fine," she said as she bowed down slightly to them and walked away. Even if she's the miko of the shrine, there are actually no special job for her. She just have to take care of the shrine, greet people, give away fortune-telling papers at special days, et cetera. But she didn't mind at all, her mother was already gone and she has no father too, so she love to stick with a lot of people, so that she didn't felt lonely.

_And since I only have to take care of myself and have no other job, this is a perfect job for me! _she thought happily while she took a look around. And besides, she has a unique talent, to see the spirits or youkai. She can see and sense spirits where ever they are. She can even see some spirits that no one can see so clearly. Tsurara doesn't even know why, but it never matter for her, though she already learned to pretend that she didn't saw them, so they never disturb her too. Some of the spirits are funny, though, that Tsurara can't helped it but to laugh a little when she saw them. Even in the shrine, spirits are sometimes crawling around, but mostly only the little ones.

When Tsurara walked slowly around the shrine land, she heard a sound of something or some_one_ crushed the trees from _above_. She immediately looked to the source of the voice and stepped closer to it slowly, felt a little scared. She can heard the voice of someone grunted.

"Seriously, that old man. He wasn't joking when he said he will kick me out when we are in the middle of the sky if I lost to him," that voice said. Tsurara stepped a little closer again, very slowly. She can saw that person wore a white kimono and a black hakama on the top of the white one. That person might be a man, judging from his voice. His hakama and kimono were tatters here and there, like he crushed the trees from a pretty high height. But the strange thing is, he doesn't looked like he suffered any fatal injuries. Many cuts wound, yes, but no any serious injury. _THAT, very strange._

"Where is this anyway? I don't think this is anywhere near the main house," said that voice again, with an annoyed tone. "Guess, I have to find the to go back home on my own." There, that person sighed. Tsurara took a little step closer, very slowly, tried very hard not to get discovered by that man there. She didn't know yet who or _what_ is he. He might be a bad person, or the most possible option, he is a _youkai_. And if he is a youkai, is he the bad ones or the good ones? He looked like ordinary person, minus his strange head or hair (alright, I said it). Tsurara has never met up with youkai like him before. His eyes were bloody red, though it so pretty.

Tsurara stepped forward a little, unfortunately for her, she slipped because of her long miko's skirt and fell off.

"Whoa―" She screamed out a little, loud enough to get that man attention. That man turned at her, his face looked like he was surprised. Tsurara gasped and try to get up, but she was sloppy and ended up fell off again. This time in a sitting position. Her face burned red, she fell of _two_ times in front of a man she doesn't even know who! How careless is she?

She looked up and felt a little surprised because that man already stood in front of her. _W-what? I-I thought he was there, near the trees before?_ she thought. She scared, what if that man do something to her? If he can appear and disappear as he want to like that, he really might be a youkai. She never encounter any youkai as long as she remembered, saw them, yes, but not greet them or chat or…or…things like that! She doesn't know what to do if she have to deal with a youkai. She was scared, though that man looked handsome. His face, especially.

_W-what the? It's not the time to think about it, right?_ she thought. This man might be dangerous, but she still thought about how handsome he is? That was ridiculous! She shook her head several times.

Now, what should she do?

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><p><strong>A_Carol: There goes the first chapter. Are you enjoying it? I won't comment much for this story. Chapter 2 coming right up if I'm not busy with my school and my other story.<br>**

**Please Read and Review!**


	2. Hurt leg

**Warning: grammar errors. what else? Oh, some OOC-ness  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Nura-Mago**

**A_Carol: Hey, thanks to the reviewers for the first chapter. Actually, I made this because I found a picture where Tsurara dressed up in a miko's clothes. Somehow it turned out to story like THIS. Rikuo and Tsurara might be a little OOC in this story. **

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><p>Tsurara tried to get up, but it seems that she has wounded her right leg. When she stood up, her right leg cried in pain, she screamed and lost her balance. She will probably fell off again if that man wasn't there to keep her from falling.<p>

That man, or that youkai, a person with the strange head―or hair? (that makes things much more strange)―and kimono. The one that seemed to fell off from a pretty high height but not suffered any fatal injuries, only tatters kimono and cut wounds. The trees branches even broken up, but he just suffered _minor_ injuries!

"That was careless, you know," that man said, he chuckled. Tsurara felt her face burned more red, like a red tomato. She took her hands away from that man, felt a little embarrassed because being touched by a man he doesn't even know. But, again, her right leg felt numb, she fell to her knees. That man looked surprised.

"Whoa, there. Did you hurt your own leg?" asked that man. Tsurara's face burned even more red, if that could happened (I mean, what's more red than red tomato?). That man smiled a little. Tsurara didn't know when, but the next time she know, that man was already carrying her on his hands, bridal style. Tsurara gasped.

"Wha―Put me down!" she yelled, struggled on the man hands.

"Hey, calm down. I am just going to take you back to your home," said the man. "You can't walk with your leg hurt like that, you know." Tsurara stopped struggling. That man was right, she still can felt the pain at her right leg, she could even barely stood before. But still, she doesn't know this man well, she couldn't trust him yet. While she was thinking about it, the voices of people could be heard.

"Oh crap! The people are coming here!" said Tsurara. Maybe they came because she screamed before? If so, than that would be so embarrassing for her. She felt like she just want to disappear. Beside, she has a man who possibly is a youkai with her right now! How people will react if they see this? But that man didn't looked worried at all. He was squeezing her more tight to his chest.

"Hang on," he said. Before Tsurara could even respond, that man jumped off and whistled. Something like a big and pretty long white snake appeared out of nowhere, flew on the sky. That man landed on that strange creature (you all would've already know what is it, no?) with Tsurara in his arms. Tsurara would've screamed if she could, they were flying on the sky! Tsurara could saw the people from above, they were her classmates, Torii, Maki, Shima.

"Hey, this is strange. I thought I heard Oikawa's voice from here before~" said Shima, pretty loudly that Tsurara could heard it from above.

"Me too. But she's not here," said Torii. "Maybe we're just mistaking it?"

"Come on, let's go back. Otherwise, Kiyotsugu might scold and lecture us with some nonsense later," said Maki. Shima sighed.

"Oh, well. Let's go," he said, felt disappointed. Those three went back to the shrine without even realized that Tsurara was right above them. Tsurara felt like she want to called them so that they might helped her out from this situation, but that man seem already knew her thought.

"It would be pointless to call them," he said. Tsurara glanced at him. What did he meant by that? Did he doing something that won't make them realize she was _there_? He really was a youkai, after all. Tsurara didn't knew how bad her expression, but judging from how the man chuckled, it must be really worst.

"Where's your home?" asked that man. Tsurara fell silent, uncertain between to tell him or not. She chose to told him.

"It's…not far. Near the big shrine," she said, felt her cheeks burned red without reason. "My home's a temple." That man nodded understandingly. The both kept silent on the way back to Tsurara's home.

On the way back to her home, no one realized about Tsurara nor the man. It looked like he used some kind of his youkai power, which made it clear that he was a youkai. When they arrived at her home, the man carried her into her house and asked,

"Which one is your room? I better carry you there." Tsurara blushed, that was a pretty rude question for a girl, wasn't it? I mean, it was a girl's room we were talking about. But Tsurara pointed on one of the door. That man opened the door and walked in nonchalantly. He put Tsurara down on her bed.

"T-Thanks," she said. That man nodded. He crouched near her and touched her right leg, exactly at where it felt hurt. Tsurara gritted her teeth, tried to drive away the pain. The man sighed.

"How could you be so carelessly like that?" He teared his own black kimono and used the teared part to wrapped the girl's wound. Tsurara gasped.

"I-I'm not asking you to do that," she said. The man smiled, looked amused.

"You can probably walk now," he said. "Your friends will come any second. So will take my leave." He turned back, walked out slowly.

"Ah, wait!" Tsurara yelled, but that man was nowhere to be found. She could just stared at where the man stood before until her friends came in and greeted her.

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><p>Rikuo rode on his transportation, the Hebi Nyoro, with a smile on his face. He was thinking about the shrine maiden. She was so adorable, like how much she blushed on his apparance. He chuckled to himself.<p>

_She was so funny,_ he thought. She was pretty cute, actually. That miko's clothes really suited her very well. And her hair was beautiful, it was light blue and black, a matched pair. He didn't know if she dyed it or what, but looked like it was her hair natural colours. He kept messed up with his mind until he reached his home, the Nura clan's main house. All youkai in his house greeted him politely.

"Welcome home, master!" Rikuo smiled and nodded at them. _They're as polite as usual,_ he thought. When he was about to go to his own room, he met up with Kubinashi. Kubinashi greeted him.

"Master, I thought you won't come home for today," he grinned.

"Yeah, that old man really get on my nerves," said Rikuo. Kubinashi nodded with agreement, then he looked like realizing something.

"Master, sorry if I'm mistaking it," said Kubinashi. "But, you seemed more happier somehow. Why, if I may ask?" Rikuo gasped, how could Kubinashi realized his feeling? Was his feeling could be read from his face? Rikuo smiled.

"You can say that I found something interesting on my way back here," he said. Kubinashi nodded, realized that his master won't tell him any further, he bowed at him and left. Rikuo continued walked to his own room. He thought back at the shrine maiden he met up before. _She was pretty interesting, indeed._ Rikuo smile grown wider.

Maybe he had to make his visit again to that place. To meet up with the girl, of course, what else? He grinned.

_ Soon._

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><p><strong>A_Carol: How about it? Good? You realized some OOC-ness here, yes? Please forgive me for grammar errors and for those who doesn't like how they become quite OOC like this. I apologize. <strong>

**By the way, I just want to pour out my thought, I CAN'T BE SURE THAT RIKUO DON'T HAD ANY FEELING AT KANA! There! I said it! Please, I read the Nura-Mago chap.164 raw (i don't know what the meaning of the words they say, it's still japanese) and there's a little spark at RikuoXKana! Please Shiibashi Hiroshi! Just make it RikuoXTsurara! I beg you!  
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**Please R&R! Every review will pump me up to update the new chapter!**_  
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	3. Meet at school?

**Warning: SOME OOC-ness, between Rikuo and Tsurara, of course. And grammar errors.**

**Disclaimer: I never own Nura-Mago**

**Thanks to: all who read and review for this story, I give you my deepest thanks. I'm so grateful that there are people who read this. Thank you very much. I will keep working hard from now on, please support me with your reviews!  
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**A_Carol: Man, I'm updating for the TH'sA (Third Head's Adventure) and made me update for this one pretty slow. But actually, I'm out of ideas here! If anyone want to give me your ideas, please just write it on the review. (I don't care if what I said about out of ideas is _taboo_) I've done my best tried not to made Tsurara and Rikuo were too OOC. I'm sorry if you don't like it.  
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><p>Tsurara sat on her chair at her class, she was spacing out. She didn't heard or even listened to the teacher's lecture. Her eyes gazed away at the light blue sky outside the windows. Her mind kept thinking about that man or that youkai from the other day. He sure is handsome, so cool yet annoying. She loved his bloody red eyes, that glimmered so beautifully. And he was pretty kind, even if he didn't showed it on the surface, he was actually pretty caring and thoughtful. She sighed.<p>

_Can she…meet him again?_ She thought for a second and frowned at another second. _W-wh-what? Why I thought about him? And even want to…meet with him again…_ Tsurara shooked her head for a couple of times. Tried to drive away the thoughts about him from her mind. Still, the image of his face kept playing in her mind. She couldn't helped it but blushed a little. Suddenly, the bell was ringing, a sign for lunch time. After gave a greeting to their teacher, the students went out from the class, including Tsurara. Outside the class, she met up with her friends, Kana, Shima, Maki, Torii, and Kiyotsugu, actually friends from a weird club brought up by Kiyotsugu. They all going to the rooftop to eat lunches and discussing about the club.

On their way to the rooftop, Kiyotsugu kept talking about youkai and such, which everyone barely heard at. Tsurara, with all her thoughts, didn't heard his lecture at all. She was busy with her own mind, which caused her to bumped at a person. She and that person both fell down on the floor. That person quickly apologized.

"Ah! Sorry, are you hurt?" It was a boy with a glasses, with brown and black coloured hair. That boy's face looked pretty adorable, cute. His brown eyes looked so kind and caring… Tsurara gasped.

"O-oh, no. It was my mistake," she said awkwardly. What's wrong with her? She's just meet up with him but she looked at him with such detail?

"Really? Thank goodness," that boy smiled. Then he stood up and took the books that he dropped when he bumped at Tsurara. Tsurara felt guilty and chose to helped him, those books looked pretty heavy. After they finished, that boy smiled again at her.

"Thanks," he said. Then he walked to Tsurara and whispered, "Be careful there, miko-san." And continue walked away.

"Eh?" Tsurara turned backward but he was already nowhere to be seen. Tsurara just stood there, too stunned to move, until Kana patted her shoulder.

"Oikawa-san, what's wrong?" she asked. Tsurara shook her head.

"A-ah, nothing," she lied. "Come on, let's just go, okay?" She pushed away Kana to continue walked to the rooftop. Kana didn't know what happened, but she just do as what her friend said. They both walked together to the rooftop, tried to catch up with their friends who left them behind.

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><p>"Alright everyone! Are you ready?" Kiyotsugu shouted. "Today, I want to talk about that youkai, Nurarihyon!" While the others listened to his lecture with unexcited face, Tsurara didn't paid any attention at him anymore. But she didn't thought about 'that person', she was thinking about the boy she encountered before, the one she bumped at. That boy looked normal, minus his strange coloured hair, but it's not that strange. He looked like just a cute, adorable boy to her. But…how could he know that she's a miko, a shrine maiden? She didn't remember that she had met him anywhere before. Seeing her spacing out, Kana patted her on the back.<p>

"Oikawa-san, why're you spacing out like that?" asked Kana. "Do you have any problem?" She looked really full with concern for Tsurara, making her felt a little uneasy yet happy because her friend concerned about her.

"No, I was just…thinking," she smiled. "By the way, Ienaga-san, do you know about a boy with brown and black coloured hair, around our age?"

"Brown…and black…," Kana thought for a moment then said, "Did you mean Rikuo-kun?" Tsurara looked at her with a questioning look.

"Nura Rikuo-kun. He's my childhood friend," explained Kana. "He always act like everyone errand boy, which sometimes made me worried." She sighed.

"Nura Rikuo… Did I had met him somewhere before?" Tsurara thought. No… She didn't even recognize that name, nor his face before she bumped at him before. So... how did he knew that she is a miko?

"Ah, Rikuo-kun is one of the club's members, you know," said Kana. "Maybe you hadn't met him before because you rarely came for club's acitivities." Oh. Then, it make sense. Rikuo maybe know about her from someone or when she attending to club's activities sometimes. Probably that's why, if he's one of the club's members, than he probably knew that she was a miko from her friends, Shima or someone, when they came to the shrine.

_Yup, I know it wasn't strange at all, _thought Tsurara with relieve. _There's no way that he was that man from before._ Thinking about that man once again made her blushing. She couldn't stop thinking about how handsome he was. When she was messing up with her mind, Kiyotsugu yelled at her.

"Oikawa-san! Hear me out when I'm talking here!" Tsurara gasped.

"A-ah, sorry, Kiyotsugu-kun," apologized Tsurara. "So, what are you talking about?" Kiyotsugu sighed.

"THIS youkai, the master of all spirit!" he shouted proudly as he showed her his laptop with an image displayed on the laptop display. "Nurarihyon!"

"O-oh…" Tsurara stared at the image. It was an image of a man with handsome-looking face, bloody red eyes, and strange…hair… _Huh?_ Wait, isn't the youkai in this image… looked like that man from before? Minus the over-confident looking the youkai in the image has. But the others… the image look really familiar with that man. But…if that so… than that means he is the master of all spirit? Why the master of all spirit was at the shrine before? What was the problem that made him came to the shrine? Tsurara felt like her head would heat up, too much questions were spinning in her head.

"Kiyotsugu-kun, you're still at it?" asked Kana, looked a little bit annoyed.

"Well, you don't know how I felt, Ienaga-san!" shouted Kiyotsugu. "You got saved by him and met him several times! But what about me? Not even once!" Kana blushed, being mentioned about that man made her felt a little embarrassed. Tsurara glanced at her.

"Ienaga-san, you'd met him before?" she asked. Kana nodded slowly, her cheeks were blushing red.

"Well, yes," she said, with a low voice that almost like a whisper. "He… saved me for several times before…" Kana lowered her head, made Tsurara felt not to pushed her anymore. But still, heard about that man had saved Kana for several times before somehow made her felt… jealous? _Oh my god,_ she thought while her cheeks were blushing red, even more red than Kana.

Will that man come again to the shrine today? Tsurara wasn't sure.

But does she want him to come again? Oh yes.

_Absolutely._

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><p>Rikuo (in his day form, obviously) was running around from room to room, like always. Doing someone else errand, fixing this and that, etc. He was smiling all along when he was doing all that. What made him happy was that he luckily met with that shrine maiden, whom his night form developed interest on. From his friends, he knew that her name is Tsurara Oikawa. A pretty cute name, and it matched with her.<p>

_**You should've at least let me talked more with her, **_said his night form grumpily. Rikuo chuckled.

_**No can do, **_he thought to his night form. _**You're way too careless, saying something like you'd met her before**_. His night form shrug.

_**She would just thought that you knew from her friends, **_said Night Rikuo.

_**…So? You want to come to the shrine again?**_

_** Hmm? Well, if you don't mind, **_said Night Rikuo again. _**You're the one who had the body at day.**_ Rikuo frowned.

_**Huh? Even if it's me who had the body, you would just suddenly take over like always,**_ he grunted.

_**True.**_ Night Rikuo chuckled.

_**You want to come, then? **_asked Rikuo. _**I don't really mind, but I have to meet with her too. We can't let her know just you. **_

_**So… you first? Funny, what will you say to her? **_Rikuo smiled.

_**You can take over in the middle, **_he said. _**But first thing first, I have to talk to her, before you come out of the sudden. **_Night Rikuo grinned.

_**Then, it settled.**_ And he vanished from Rikuo's mind. He sighed. _He surely love to do things like gramps, come and go like a wind._ Rikuo looked at the sky, where the sun still shine. Even if it still daytime, he could transform to his night form, even not for too longer. So, he will going to the shrine when the sun is near to set. Rikuo kept his smile on his face. He walked away, continued with the errands he have to do. He will meet her again after this, and he want it to happen quick.

But first, what should he say to her?

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><p><strong>A_Carol: There goes the third chapter. I'm sorry there wasn't much romance here, I want to made Tsurara know first who's that man. Well, you lot were probably know, anyway. I'll try to update faster, (hopefully) the next chapter contain more romance. I will try to make it more to fluffy one, I can't be sure though. And Rikuo was just like a passing by here, next chapter will dedicated more for his youkai form. I want to make it for the human form and Tsurara too, but I think it didn't matched for this story. So... there goes for his youkai form. <strong>

**I'm sorry if the next chapter isn't matched with what I said here, I always easily forgot what I already wrote. (Sorry, from the very bottom of my heart) But, just looked forward for it, okay? **

**Please Read and Review!  
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	4. A little date and suspicious shadows

**Warnings: grammar errors, mistypes, misspellings, some OOC-ness, etc. **

**Disclaimer: Nurarihyon no Mago = Shiibashi Hiroshi, not mine. **

**AngieCarol: AGH! I can't forgive myself to update soooo slow... I'm so sorry... I got too busy with my school, etc, that I could only made this little by little, which resulted in taking a VERY long time. I'm waiting for Nura-Mago Sennen Makyou ep. 9 and Nurarihyon no mago chap. 167. Please update fast, Shiibashi-sensei! I want to see Rikuo or Tsurara in action! *fangirling mode: ON***

***ehem* okay, enough blabbering. Please enjoy and ignore the mistakes if you can XD**

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><p>Tsurara sighed. She was standing in front of the biggest sakura tree in the shrine, sweeping the ground. She already changed to her miko uniform about one hour ago. She was rather late coming from the school because she was on the day shift at the class today. The moment she arrived at the shrine, the clock already showed the time 16:30. She might be a little more late if that chocolate brown and black hair boy didn't offered to do the work for her.<p>

_'Oikawa Tsurara-san…right?' asked the chocolate brown and black hair. Tsurara nodded. 'I'm Nura Rikuo. Sorry that I bumped on you at the corridor.' Tsurara smiled at him. _

_ 'Ah, no, no… It should be me that apologize to you… I didn't use my eyes back then,' she said kindly. True, it was her after all that spacing out in the middle of walking. Rikuo looked at a card box filled with books on Tsurara's hands. _

_ 'Are you in the day shift today?' he asked. Tsurara nodded. 'Let me help you!' He suddenly took the card box from Tsurara's hands. Tsurara looked shock because of his sudden action. _

_ 'EEH? Don't, Nura-kun! It's my turn to work today, not you!' she yelled at the boy. Rikuo smiled warmly, making his face looked really cute and adorable. _

_ 'Don't worry about me, Oikawa-san!' he said lightly. 'I'm actually free after school, so it doesn't matter. You should worry about yourself, you work as a miko at the shrine, right? You should go home now.' Tsurara looked at the clock and gasped, it's already 16:00. People are probably already coming to the shrine now, how will they react if the miko isn't there? thought Tsurara. She turned back to Rikuo._

_ 'Is it really okay?' she asked, with guilty in her voice. It is her work after all, she shouldn't give it to others, even if she has another work to do. But Rikuo just nodded and kept his smile on. _

_ 'Yeah, I used to do work like this, so don't worry,' he said cheerfully. Tsurara hesitated for a moment before nodded. _

_ 'I'll leave this for you then, Nura-kun,' she said. She took her school bag and ran away, stopped for a moment at the door. 'If you need anything, come to the shrine and ask me, okay? Consider it as a payment for your kindness. See you!' And she continue ran through the corridor as fast as she can to her home. She could faintly heard Rikuo said 'See you' and something before she ran down the stairs. _

Tsurara still felt a little guilty about that time, she never throwing her own work to others like that before, even for urgent matter. But she really thanked Rikuo for taking her work at school, so that she could also do her work here, at the shrine. As expected, there were some people who came that waiting for her, some even questioned her why is she being late. But Tsurara only answered them with a smile.

Tsurara looked up at the sakura tree, which always bloom beautifully no matter what season it is. Seeing the sakura tree like this usually calm her heart, but somehow, now it's remind her about that person. That handsome cool face, those bloody crimson red eyes… Tsurara felt her face got hotter. He was so scary but cool at that time…

"Tsurara!" Tsurara instantly turned to the source of the voice, with a face still as red as tomato because of the thoughts about him. When she saw the one who called for her, she smiled.

"Ah, Nura-kun!" The boy was running closer to her and stopped when he arrived in front of Tsurara. The chocolate brown and black hair boy smiled back, making his face looked absolutely cute.

"Good to see you, Tsurara!" he said, pretty loudly that some of the people looked at him with strange faces. The group of people started whispering and chattering about the boy. _Great… There will be some rumors uproar tomorrow,_ thought Tsurara. She just hope that Rikuo didn't feel uncomfortable because of those gossiping people, she will felt guilty if he feel uneasy.

"Wow, you sure are famous here, right?" Rikuo looked around, didn't looked annoyed by the chattering at all. Tsurara smiled nervously, she was the one who annoyed.

"Thanks for your help at the school, Nura-kun," she said. Rikuo shook his head.

"Like I told you, it's not a big deal," he said kindly. "By the way, you can call me Rikuo. I call you Tsurara after all." Tsurara hesitated for a second and nodded.

"Rikuo-kun, then," she said with a smile. "Why are you coming here, Rikuo-kun? Is there something I can help you?" Rikuo scratched his head.

"Not very important thing, really…" he said, a bit uneasy. "I just want to ask you to go along with me, I heard that there's a festival held at the first district." _Really?_ Tsurara rarely go out from the shrine after school, except when she hang out with her friends or to buy daily need. She only go to a festival when her friends invite her, and it's only at certain times like New Year's eve or Christmas.

"So, how about it?" Rikuo asked again. "Would you like to accompany me?" With a smile this time. Tsurara looked confused between the choice to go or not. Even if she really wants to go, she still have some errands to settle at the shrine. But when she hesitated to go, the Arawashi Family, the yakuza people who are her mother's helpers or attendants (sort of…), came to the shrine.

"Don't worry, Tsurara! We'll settle things here!" said Garakuta, the so called leader of the Arawashi Family. Tsurara smiled thankfully to him.

"Thanks, Garakuta-san!" She turned to Rikuo. "Shall we go, Rikuo-kun?" Rikuo nodded and looked at the clothes that Tsurara wore.

"Uh… Maybe you should change your clothes first, Tsurara." Tsurara looked down and remembered that she still wearing her miko clothes. She blushed, there's no way she could go to festival wearing these clothes!

"Y-you're right! I-I will go change my clothes right away!" She quickly turned to the direction of her house and ran, but she misstep on her skirt and fell. She blushed because of her clumsiness, the other people giggled at her. She quickly stood up and ran again to her house.

"Be careful, Tsurara!" Rikuo yelled at her. Tsurara answered by waving her hand. Rikuo watched her until she gone outside the shrine gate. He sighed and leaned on the sakura tree, waiting for Tsurara to back again.

* * *

><p>When Tsurara back, she already wore a blue short dress with long sleeves and black laces, there was also a black big ribbon on the chest part. She wore her favorite cream colored long scarf, too, and long light blue stockings. Rikuo smiled at her.<p>

"Those clothes really fit you, Tsurara! You look cute!" he said. Tsurara cheeks blushed a little, making Rikuo chuckled.

"T-thanks… I rarely use my outing clothes, so I just use what I found at home," she said nervously. Rikuo looked at her with a questioning look.

"Why's that? You never go outside before?" he asked.

"W-well… I _rarely_ go outside…" she answered, a little embarrassed. I mean, it's not really normal for a middle high school girl to not hang-out often, right? "A-anyway, if we are going to go to the festival, we better go now!" Rikuo looked at the watch on his hand, 16:50.

"You're right. We better off now. We still have to catch the train," he said and Tsurara nodded as agreement. "Then let's go." Rikuo suddenly grabbed Tsurara's hand and dragging her as he walked to the outside of the gate. Tsurara blushed.

"R-Rikuo-kun… You're holding my hand… I can walk for myself…" she said, extremely embarrassed. Rikuo smiled at her.

"Do you know the way to get there, Tsurara?" he asked her. Tsurara's face got blushed even redder. Rikuo grinned. "I take that as a 'no'. So you should just follow my lead."

"B-b-but, I can just follow you, you don't have to h-holding my hand l-like this," she still making excuses. Rikuo shook his head.

"We're going to a crowd place, it'll be dangerous if we get separated, right?" he answered smartly. Tsurara pouted, realized that there's no use in arguing it even more. _Still, I never holding hands with anyone like boys…_ she thought. She never knew that a boy's hand could be so good like Rikuo's. His hand felt so warm and nice… While she was spacing out like that, she unconsciously holding back Rikuo's hand, making Rikuo smiled a little.

They arrived at the First District around 17:10. The First District was already crowd by so many people, most of them are middle high or high school students, judging from their appearance and were gathering at one shop or market to another, checking out their stand to buy or try something like foods. The festival couldn't actually be said as a festival, actually. It's more like the shops and markets promoted their stuffs, but it was still fun because there are shops that opened game stands like shooting stand. Tsurara stood at the First District gate, amazed by the merry of the festival. Rikuo looked enjoying Tsurara's amazed face. Tsurara turned to Rikuo.

"Rikuo-kun, this is so amazing!" she yelled at him with excitement, which Rikuo answered with his smile.

"So, what are we going to do first?" he asked. Tsurara became silent, she was thinking about what they should do first, since it was the first time she went to a festival other than the shrine festival. And she came with a _boy_, for god sake.

"Uum… I think you should be the one to chose first, Rikuo-kun," she said. Rikuo made a questioning look. "I…well, it's the first time I went to a festival as big as this one, so…" She blushed. Rikuo nodded in understanding.

"Maybe we should just take a look around," offered Rikuo. "We can try and stop by at each stand while we look around." Tsurara nodded in excitement, agree whatever Rikuo's plan is.

"Then let's go now!" She entered the gate, walked cheerfully while pulling Rikuo who still holding hands with her without thinking much. "Come on, Rikuo-kun!" Rikuo surprised by her sudden action, but he smiled and followed the cheerful girl steps.

* * *

><p>Tsurara exhaled a breath, her face looked so happy. She already walked around with Rikuo and tried some stuffs from each stand. The merchant from each store was so kind, they treated them warmly and even giving some samples for free. Today was filled with blissful moments for Tsurara.<p>

Now, she was sitting on a bench near a little fountain outside the first district with Rikuo. She felt tired yet satisfied after all the fun she got when she was with Rikuo. In any case, hanging out isn't a bad thing at all.

_Maybe I really should going out often…_ she thought. Well, she frequently chose to stayed at home rather than going outside the shrine before because she has her own reason. And that reason is…

"Tsurara, do you want to drink something? I can go buy it for you," Rikuo offered suddenly.

"Huh? Uh… if you don't mind… I would like cold chocolate milk," said Tsurara nervously. Rikuo nodded.

"Then I'll go buy it for a moment. Wait here, okay?" He turned and ran into the first district, leaving Tsurara alone. Tsurara watched him as he disappeared in the crowd of people. She sighed.

That chocolate hair boy sure is too kind. Tsurara had just met him some times ago but she already felt comfortable around him. If you want to say it with words, it's like that boy have an aura that make people want to be friend with him. Well, despite his warm and kindly attitude, of course. But that attitude of him actually made him became other students errand boy.

_I like his chocolate colored eyes, they looked so warm and shiny, _thought Tsurara, her mind swirling around everywhere. _And I love his adorable face… He is really cute when he smile_. And there goes all her thought about Rikuo. While she was busy thinking about all those thoughts, some mysterious and suspicious shadows slowly moved closer to her.

"So she's the well-known miko here, huh~?" said a scary voice that suddenly appeared in a low tone, made the voice couldn't be heard by Tsurara.

"She sure has a lot of guts, leaving her shrine without any protections," said another voice. The voice chuckled on it own words.

"But are you sure that she's a miko? She looks pretty fragile to me," another voice appeared. A voice hissed.

"She is! I can sense this annoyingly pure aura around her!" said the voice with anger. "I feel like I want to rip her neck to shreds!" The voice laugh terrifyingly. The others frowned when hearing the laugh.

"Anyway, let's kill her and take her spirit power now!" shouted a voice clearly. The others yelled their agreement. They came out from the shadows and ran to Tsurara.

"Huh?" Tsurara turned her head just to saw a group of youkai ran towards her with killing intentions. Ominous 'fear' overflowing from them. Tsurara reflexively shrieked.

"EEEEEEK!"

* * *

><p><strong>AngieCarol: Oookaaay... I think I'm getting a bit off the topic in the last parts (XD), but I felt the urge to make it this way... I mean, I want to make it a little exciting love story like Youhime and Nurarihyon's. I make it that the miko has some kind of special spirit power here, but I won't tell you what is it, not now (:3) Also I somehow ended up making this chapter like a special lovey-dovey for Day Rikuo and Tsurara, but this is necessary, at least for my story. (for those who don't like it, please, just spare me) By the way, everything were just my fantasy, there will be some ridiculous parts in next chapters that won't make sense at all, but please stay with it. <strong>

**Special thanks for Reviewers: **

**Feuwitch: Yeah, I know, okay? I just somehow getting crazy/insane when I wrote about my worries about Rikuo x Kana. Sorry about that XD and thanks a bunch for your reviews. **

** Straight Guy: Your reviews really pumped me up :) You think of me too highly... *get punch at* (haha)**

**Kur0kishi: Yeah, I just realized it when you pointed it out! A bunch of my apologize to all readers about that (mistypes, I mean, I can't helped it with grammar errors) and thanks for your reviews Kur0kishi. I want to fix my grammar but... -_-""**

**JustPikachu: Really? Is it interesting? Thank you so much :D**

**AnimeLover1885: I _am_ a HERO! XD Thank you! **

**AnimeLover0608: Yeah, I'm a total Rikuo x Tsurara, too! They're really cute and match! :D**

**LinaTais: You're right, I know there are grammar mistakes and all but I really don't know where, which make it difficult for me to fix it up. But, thanks for the review. **

**ELISA: Haha, I just found it interesting to make Tsurara that way. I love it when she become clumsy and blush much. X3**

**Akira45: Thanks you very much. It's good to know that there are people who enjoy my story. **

**Anyway, thanks for all your supportive reviews. I love to know when you enjoy my story. **

**Please read and review! Even the most criticize ones will be appreciated.  
><strong>


	5. Unexpected outcome

**Warning: some OOC-ness, possible mistypes and mispellings, mistakes in grammars, a very-very strange plot, etc.**

**Disclaimer: Nura-Mago © Shiibashi Hiroshi**

**A/N: Again, sorry for my late update. I know, it has been so many days since I last updated. But I've to study for my mid-test at the end of this month. I beg your forgiveness and understanding. The next chapter might be late again, but please be patient. **

**For now, enjoy the story...**

* * *

><p>Tsurara quickly jumped from her seat and ran, as quick as she can after she saw the group with bunch of big and vicious youkai approached her. The group of youkai chased her; they all screeched and shrieked with excitement and joy. They extended their hands and swung their weapons at her; trying to reach her.<p>

"Where are you going 'lil miko lady?" one of them yelled.

"Let's stop running so we can eat you!" They all laughed in unison. Tsurara gritted her teeth and tried to run faster. She was scared, really scared. But she had been experienced something like this before, years ago, when she was still…little. At that time, she still had her mother, Setsura, who kept protecting her from youkai. Setsura was a skillful miko, she was great at excorcising youkai, purifying, and making charms or talisman.

After her mother died, she was alone. No one protecting her from youkai anymore, except her mother's attendants (Arawashi Family), but they can't always be there for her. That's why Tsurara prefer to staying at home. At school was fine too because the land god of the school and some other youkai made some kind of agreement with her mother to protect her. But outside from those two places, she was easy to attack.

Tsurara took some charms from her purse and threw it at the youkai. When the charm touched them, it quickly burnt in black fires along with the youkai. The charms were made by Setsura for Tsurara to defending herself. Some of the youkai were burnt, but the others still chasing her.

Tsurara was afraid. These youkai never know when to give up. They will chase her again and again, and Tsurara has to run from them. What she has to do? She was careless; she didn't bring many charms when she went from the Shrine back then. Without them, she screwed.

…Well, not really. She still could do something, with one of miko's techniques which only several persons could use. But Tsurara already tried it once, and that was too… risky. She didn't want to take a risk.

_What should I do?_

* * *

><p>Rikuo walked back to the bench, he brought two cans of drinks, one on each hand. He was smiling all the way on the path, each step felt so lightly for him. Why? Because he felt happy that he could go on a little 'date' with Tsurara. And Tsurara looked enjoyed going out with him, too.<p>

Rikuo walked happily to the bench, but when he arrived, Tsurara was nowhere to be found. _Where did she go? _He looked around around with worry eyes, he was afraid that she might be stuck in some trouble. If she just got home early because of something... well, that's good. Then, he saw Ryoutaneko, the leader of Neko Clan. He threw off the drinks and quickly ran to him.

"Hey, Ryoutaneko!" called Rikuo. The youkai quickly turned at him.

"Oh, Rikuo-sama!" he bowed a bit. "What can I help you?"

"Did you see a girl around my age with black and light-blue hair around here?" asked Rikuo quickly.

"Heh? Hm…," he thought for a moment before answered,"Oh, the girl with long-hair and dark blue eyes?" Rikuo nodded.

"Yeah! Where did you see her?"

"Ah, well, I didn't see her but some tiny youkai were talking about her," said Ryoutaneko. "I heard they said that the girl chased by some dangerous youkai near the Central Playground." Rikuo frowned. _She chased by youkai? _Who the hell dare to make such ruckus in his turf? He will teach them some manners.

"Thanks, Ryoutaneko! I owe you!" Rikuo quickly turned and ran to the direction to the Central Playground, leaving Ryoutaneko standing alone, stared at him.

All the way to the playground, his mind was thinking only about Tsurara's safety. He was afraid that she could be hurt or the worst, the youkai might kill her. If that happen, he will kill those youkai! He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

_Wait for me, Tsurara!_

* * *

><p>Tsurara was breathing heavily, the dangerous and hungry-look youkai were surrounding her. She ran and ran and ran from them, but now, she was being cornered at a playground, alone. The only good point in this was that there was no one in the playground. Tsurara couldn't risk the people safety just because these youkai were chasing after her.<p>

_Now, how can I get out from this situation?_ thought Tsurara desperately. These youkai didn't look like the amateur ones, and they were hungry for spirit power, which made them more dangerous. Unfortunately for her, she already used up all her charms but rather than decreasing, the amount of the youkai were increasing.

"Where are you going now, 'lil miko? There's no escape now~" All the youkai looked impatient to attack her. Tsurara twitched. These youkai could surely rip her to shreds anytime now, she got to do something. They were all underestimating her; they thought that she was just a weak miko girl. She could use that as an advantage to do a sudden payback attack to escape from them.

_But, the only technique I skilled at are…_ The summoning and _trance_ mode. But using the summoning technique is pretty dangerous, because unlike the onmyouji, miko summon godly creatures directly using their own body as a median. That would give pretty a burden to the user's body. But the _trance _mode is also risky… She had done it before and the result wasn't really good. She gritted her teeth, shook away the bad thoughts about the risks.

_I have no time to hesitate!_ She took out nacre Japa mala from her pocket and stood in a praying position, with her hands clasped in front of her chest. She closed her eyes and began enchanting the prayer.

"_Mighty god and goddesses, please answer my prayer."_ The youkai began to be silent; some of them were still whispering and chattering about what was going on. Some of the youkai were ready in their battle positions, prepared in case something happened.

"_Repel the demons forces and purify the root of these abominations." _Tsurara slowly opened her eyes, they were glowing light gold. Now, all the youkai were froze, they completely stopped laughing and screaming as they saw the sight in front of them.

_"God of storms Susanoo-no-Mikoto, may you give me your power to cleanse these evils."_ She extended her hand to the front, wind flow together on the palm of her hand. From the wind, a black long sword appeared. She gripped the sword and swung it. For a moment nothing happened.

"Huh? What the―" Even though the sword didn't touch them, all of the youkai on the front side sliced to two. The cuts were neat; it was like they were cut indirectly by a wind cutter produced by the sword. The youkai that get cut by screeched and disappeared to dust. The remaining youkai screamed in horror and quickly moved back. Tsurara, like possessed by something, smiled.

"The wind sword, Kusanagi, will cleanse the demons."

* * *

><p><em><strong>1) Nacre: some kind like the inner layer of some shells<strong>_

_ **2) Japa mala: the Buddha prayer beads, use to enchanting prayers**_

_**3) Kusanagi: or Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi/_**Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi**_. The sword found by Susanoo-no-Mikoto inside the Yamata-no-Orochi, can control the wind to move to the direction of one's swing. **_

**Special thanks to: Kur0kishi, Anime lover0608, FeuWitch,** **YellowWomanontheBrink, zcheri, and all my story readers out there. Thanks a bunch! :')**_**  
><strong>_

**Kur0kishi: Sure, I will love it if you can beta it. Since I already post this chapter, please start with the next chapter later. Also, because I don't really understand about how you can beta the story, please PM me about the details later. Should I send you the document via e-mail or what?  
><strong>

**A/N: I'm sorry, you've been waiting so long yet this chapter is pretty short. But I like the cliff-hanger ending, sorry about that... And sorry about the strange plot, if you don't like it, especially about the prayer, miko's power, etc. I make up those things, for sure. Since I already have the next plot in my mind, maybe I can post the next chapter in a week or two. Again, I am not giving any guarantee or promise. **

**By the way, I want to make a new story with the pair Yura x Itaku. What do you think? I know it sound crazy, because they didn't even talked to each other in the real story, but somehow, I felt this pair is going to be funny :3 They both are like a tsundere~ ;) **

**Tell me your opinion about it and about this chapter, please. **


	6. What's going on?

**A.C.:Well... I couldn't say anything more then SORRY for the very VERY LATE update. I'm having... a writer-block... And I'm about to having my 1st semester test... It's okay if you don't forgive me, just don't stop reading my story, please... By the way, since I couldn't contact Kur0kishi for beta-reading, there might by quite a few grammar errors or typos.  
><strong>

**Warning: OOC-ness, grammar errors, etc.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Nura-Mago  
><strong>

* * *

><p>When Rikuo arrived at the playground, what he saw there wasn't a good sight. He didn't even believe what he saw was true or just his eyes playing with him. But there's no way it happen. Still, was that sight really true?<p>

What he saw there was bunch of youkai killed by a black and light-blue hair, by _Tsurara._ She was slaying them using the black sword on her hand so easily, like cutting paper with a very sharp knife. Bloods spilled out from those youkai bodies before they vanished to dust. The horror was, if Rikuo's eyes weren't mistaken, Tsurara slaying them with a smile on her face, like she was enjoying it. Her eyes were golden and cold, different from her usual dark blue soft eyes.

_What actually happened?_ Rikuo thought. All that mess… is that really Tsurara's doing? Even more important… is that really Tsurara? But he got no time to think about that. He quickly rushed towards Tsurara.

"Tsurara!" he called her. Tsurara turned at him and, in a blink, swung the black sword on her hands at him. If Rikuo didn't have great reflex, he would probably cut in two now. He blocked that attack with his own japanese-style sword.

Rikuo gritted his teeth; the strength he felt on his sword was pretty strong. _Is this her power?_ "Snapped out of it, Tsurara!" Rikuo shouted desperately. Rikuo swung his sword as hard as he could, send Tsurara flying only one meter ahead. Tsurara landed safely on her feet. She opened her mouth, muttering something.

"_I'll destroy… youkai…"_ Rikuo blinked.

"What?" A smile playing on the girl's lips. Suddenly, skeletons came out from the shadow beneath Rikuo, they grasped his legs, pulling it under. Rikuo gritted his teeth and swung his sword to the skeletons, slashed them to pieces. But showing your back to your foe is a fatal act, when Rikuo realized it, Tsurara was already in front of him, lifting her sword.

"_Die,"_ said a cold charming voice from her mouth as she swung her sword. Rikuo eyes widened.

"Tsurara!" The girl twitched, when her cold golden eyes met with the boy's chocolate warm eyes. She stopped her movement, leaving her blade about some centimeters from Rikuo's head. Her eyes widened and body trembling a bit, like she was seeing…or _remembering_ from something terrible.

_Ri…kuo?_

In that short moment of hesitation, seal papers suddenly appeared from the sky surrounded her. It was binding her movement. The girl _che-_ed.

"_Onmyouji's seal…"_ Tsurara whispered with a cold tone of voice.

"Perish, filthy creature!" A jolt of thunder sparked from the seal papers. Tsurara gritted her teeth, tighten her grip at her sword but she couldn't swing it. Her eyes slowly turned back to her dark blue eyes. Before she completely lost all her strength, she reached out her hand to Rikuo and smiled creepily yet alluringly.

"_We'll meet again, cursed blood youkai."_ Rikuo eyes widened_. That voice… _After that, she closed her eyes slowly and fell forward. Rikuo quickly sheathed his blade then catch her in his embrace before she fell to the ground.

"Tsurara?" Rikuo whispered softly. She didn't respond, it looked like she fainted. At least she still breathing and alive, that was a good sign. Rikuo sighed in relieve.

"Glad I made it in time…" A girl's voice along with stepping sounds could be heard from in front of Rikuo. Rikuo looked up, turned his attention from Tsurara, and gasped when he saw a short black hair girl with onmyouji's clothes.

"Keikain-san?" he called in surprised. Yura smiled at him.

"Long time no see, Nura-kun," greeted Yura.

"Y-yeah…" Rikuo replied awkwardly. "What are you doing here, Keikain-san? And at this time of day…" Rikuo looked at his watch; it was already around 6:30 P.M.

"I should ask the same to you, Nura-kun…" said Yura. "What are _you_ doing here?" She sharpened her eyes at him, making him felt rather uncomfortable.

"Well, since Tsurara is my classmate, I asked her if she want to hang around here a bit for the festival," explained Rikuo. "But after we finished and just take a rest…I don't know what happened." Rikuo shook his head. Whatever happened, Rikuo sure it was something bad. _Damn! I should have kept an eye on her back then,_ Rikuo cursed.

"I see…" Yura muttered. Rikuo looked at her.

"Do you… know something about it?" asked Rikuo. "Wait, more importantly, you _knew_ her?" Yura scratched her cheek awkwardly, felt uncomfortable. Then she sighed in defeat.

"Well…" But just then, a pretty loud young man's voice cut off her line.

"OI! Yura! I told you don't go rush off into things, moron!" The voice was coming from the direction behind Yura, both Yura and Rikuo turned their head to the source of the voice.

"You made me had to run all the way here! Stupid sister!" A young man who wore a green yukata and black cape appeared from the darkness. Yura frowned when she realized who it was.

"Ryuuji-niichan!" she called. Ryuuji 'humph'-ed at her and walked closer. When he realized Rikuo's presence there, he smirked.

"Yo, Nura brat," he greeted with a mocking tone.

"Ryuuji-san…" Rikuo nodded at him. Ryuuji looked at him and realized there was Tsurara in his embrace, fainted. Her expression turned into something that Rikuo couldn't read or describe.

"Yukki… It really was her…" he mumbled. He exchanged look with his sister a.k.a Yura, a silent communication created between them. Rikuo could only watch at their 'silent talk' with a confused mind while holding Tsurara.

_What is exactly going on? _Rikuo thought. _Why aren't they tell me? Is it something that I shouldn't know about? And how come that Ryuuji-san knows Tsurara, too?_ Tons of thoughts swirling around his mind, but nothing he knew could answer those questions. He was silently gone deep in thought when Ryuuji sighed.

"Alright, there's no point in arguing here," he ended their (Yura & Ryuuji) conversation. He turned his head to Rikuo and called him. "Hey, you brat."

"Huh?" asked Rikuo as he snapped back from his sea of thought.

"Carry the girl; we'll go to her house."

* * *

><p>Rikuo sighed. He was now sitting at Tsurara's house backyard, which actually head to the shrine's yard; where there was a blooming sakura tree grew. He still held his katana on his hands.<p>

"Many things happened today…" he mumbled to himself. He has already laid down Tsurara, who still unconcious, on her bed. But Ryuuji and Yura still haven't told him anything about what exactly happened. Ryuuji said that if Tsurara hasn't told him anything, then he has no right to say anything about it. Yura said that he better wait until Tsurara wake up and tell him herself. Well... that's not really much of a problem, but...

The voice of Tsurara...when she's like in a lost state... _Haven't I heard it before...?_

"But...where?" Rikuo mumbled as he looked up at the sakura tree. _This tree reminding me of the tree at the main house…_ They looked pretty much similliar. Do they have some sort of connection? _I wonder…_ He gazed at the tree, overwhelmed by its beauty. As his sight began to blur, a silently faint voice echoing in his mind…

**_The truth…of the past…_**

Rikuo eyes widened as he looked up at the sakura tree. _I thought…I heard a voice just now…_ Was it my imagination? As he thought so, he walked near the tree to examine it closer. _This tree sure is like a copy of the main house's sakura tree…_ While looking at it, he touched the tree.

Suddenly, images flashed in his mind, like pieces of memory.

"What―" He flinched when his head ached, as the images kept flashing in his mind. Images of the blooming sakura tree, the smile of his father, even an image of a little girl with long hair that he didn't remember. Those images, memories he didn't even knew kept flashing through his mind, as his head pained greatly.

_Stop!_ His minds screamed, but the images didn't stop.

**_A past… that has been forgotten…_**

And suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind. A memory of a long time…

"_Stop, stop it!" The boy hopelessly screams as the shadow drew near his beloved father. He began to ran closer to his father, uselessly reaching out his arm, trying to save what he hold dear. He failed, even before he could reach him. He saw in horror as red blood spurting out from his father's body._

"_O…tou-san?" Quiet whisper escaped his mouth, as the shadow began to spread around the place, surrounding him and his late father…_

_And a wicked smile, watching at them silently beneath the darkness of the shadow. "I will see you again, cursed blood."_

Rikuo gasped when he quickly moved back, which made him fell to the ground. He was breathing heavily, sweats ran over his cheeks. He stared at the tree.

_What… was that?_

* * *

><p><strong>A.C: And... it's end here. Sorry if it's short, after such a long time you've waited... MAYBE I will add an extra chapter, like omake or something. But don't expect me to update fast. I'm REALLY busy in December, I could only work in this in my holiday, which begin on 23rd December. Maybe I'll post at January. <strong>

**My thanks to all my readers and reviewers. **

**Kur0kishi (if you see this): Please tell me your e-mail or how I give my doc. to you.  
><strong>


	7. Memory and a little prayer

**A/N:** First I want to say that I'm terribly sorry because of the lack of update. I'm so sorry for making all of my readers waited for so long! All I can say is that I was having a major writer-block and became lazy to make an update. But after a long time, I saw reviews, alerts, and favorites in my mail that pumped me up to write again! I love you all so much guys, thanks for pumped up my spirit.

Special thanks to my beta-reader: **Kur0Kishi**, who still willing to spare his time to read and beta my story even after I made him wait for so long. I love you.

This chapter has been beta-ed by him. So enjoy~

* * *

><p>The night was late and time passed heedlessly as Rikuo stood still, frozen as if a yuki onna had used her strongest attack on him. His brown eyes starred unnerringly at the sakura tree, occasionally flicking to follow stray pink floating petals in the air as if they contained the answers he wanted. And he was. Though exactly what he was trying to discover about that scene he was watching was questionable. Slowly stepping forward on sandalled feet, his fingers brushed against the rough bark. The scene felt familiar yet strangely forbidden and obscure. Memories fluttered tantalisingly out of reach.<p>

Still…

"That person with black hair… the one that boy… that _I_ called father… that was Dad, wasn't it?" he mumbled uncertainly. Why? Why did a memory of his father appear…when he touched that tree? Rikuo looked up at the tree.

'_Is this tree…a key to my memory?'_ Truth to be told, he actually couldn't remember much about his father. He couldn't remember much about the times he spent with his father, what they usually did together, or even how he treated him until he…died. Did they play under this very tree?

All Rikuo could remember was some vague pieces like a faceless smile and a slender body clad in a loose male kimono but… apart from that…

…It was all blank.

All his memories about his father was gone, as if someone had flittingly stolen it all away.

'_it is hazy but… the last I remember was that day…'_ Rikuo thought. _'The day that father died.'_ That day, most people from Nura Clan said they found him with Rihan's dead body, unconcious. He was brought back home immediately but when he was told that his father has passed away, he could only stared blankly and say

'**Who's father?'** Everyone had starred him in blank shock when he had uttered those blashphemous words. Nonetheless, they kept asking him about his father for nearly a full day, trying to discover a clue, any clue, about why the Third Heir couldn't remember his father or the culprit. It was a sad hour when they inevitably reached the same conclusion:

'_**The Third must have lost his memories because of the shock,' **_Rikuo remembered what Kurotabou said. _**'I.. cant blame him. Not when he saw his own father die in front of his eyes.'**_ It was certainly a possibility, considering that the incident had happened about 8 years ago, when he was at the young age of 5.

But…

"Is that really the truth?" Rikuo stared at the sakura tree with dissatisfaction churning in his torso, a burning restlessness that refused to be quenched. There was something that rung untrue about the whole debacle, a sense of false realism so to speak

He clenched his fist and decided that he was done dilly dallying.

'_If my memory truly disappeared on that day, then that day must be the key that will bring back my memories of father,'_ Rikuo thought fiercely. _'If I could remember what happened that day…I might regain my memories back.'_ He looked at the tree with determined eyes before he walked near to it.

He slowly stretched out his arm again to touch the tree and concentrated fiercely when he felt rough bark under his skin, unintentionally releasing a phenomenal amount of _osore._

As soon as his _osore_ was 'unintentionally' released, a strange shaped pentacle (which Rikuo sweared he didn't see before) light up on the ground. The sakura tree was in the middle of the pentacle as its center, which meant Rikuo was currently standing on one side of the pentacle right now.

"!" Rikuo gasped as he suddenly felt an amount of enormous energy and bright light came from the pentacle, he reflexively used his free hand to defend his face and eyes from the light.

'_**Leave.'**_

One word spoken by a soft but firm female voice. A burst of strange rainbow coloured energy exploded out of the tree and blasted Rikuo away from the sakura tree before Rikuo's brain had even finished processing that one word. Caught off guard, all the kimono clad boy could do was receive the hit and brace himself as he hit the wooden wall of the house hard enough to create an impression of his body on the cracked wood. Sliding off the wall to his knees, the Heir to the Nura group barely managed to keep his balance as he groaned at the pain from his back.

Gingerly he sat down with his injured back against on the wall.

From his spot all he could do was watch through squinted eyes, as the pentacle's red glow gradually dimmed until it vanished completely with a low hum. Just like that, the night was silent again, as if nothing extraordinary had happened, leaving Rikuo dumb-founded.

* * *

><p>Yura stared with concern at the still but breathing body of Tsurara, who laid quietly on the bed. It wasn't the first time Tsurara had lost conciusness like that. In fact it happened with a disturbing frequency, at least two or three times a month. And Yura knew what was the reason something like this happened.<p>

'_This always happens after she uses it…'_ She sighed in her heart. _'She already knows what will happen… yet why must she be so reckless?'_ Yura grumbled in the silence of her mind.

It wasn't like she won't ever wake up again, but it was rather disturbing to see the usually bright, energetic and cheerful girl lie in bed like that, pale and lifeless. It just seemed so wrong.

Yura rationally knew that Tsurarar would wake up eventually. She might wake up tomorrow, if she was lucky, but it could also take up to a week or two. No one really knew. But the disquiet in her heart at seeing the sleeping Tsurara was not so easy to calm.

"There's no point in worrying. Just wait patiently." Yura turned her head to the source of the voice, her brother, Ryuuji, who was sitting near the door, chewing his customary blade of grass and looking extremely relaxed. Yura suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. It was a close thing.

"Look who's talking… Sheesh…" she replied tiredly. "The exact same person who had been pacing around the room and glaring at the wall for the past few hours. Serious much?" Yura felt her brother's sharp glare land on her back, but she paid it no attention.

_He's probably nervous and worried, too._ Moron. Yura sighed in frustation before she turned again to Tsurara with concerned eyes.

Tsurara… her other beloved childhood friend aside from Mamiru. They had known each other since they were both six years old and were each other's best friend as well as foremost rival in all things competitive. Generally speaking, the competition in question usually involved youkais. Though Tsurara, kind-hearted as she was, refused to kill any of them and she usually let youkai go after doing her 'purifying'.

Then again, it wasn't a miko's job to kill youkai anyway.

But if Tsurara had gone on rampage, that must mean that something had happened. Something bad enough to warrant her childhood friend using _that_.

Yura frowned before she sighed, tired of all the restless swirling thoughts inside her head. Maybe she could catch some fresh air outside for a moment…

"Hey, nii-chan―" Yura stopped mid sentence when she noticed her brother's slack figure leaning on the wall, with his eyes closed and a steady breath. Yura blinked. She slowly moved closer to her brother and waved her hand in front of her brother's face, getting no response she snorted as she realized that her brother had fallen asleep.

"Geez, acting all cool when you were actually tired…" Yura muttered lowly. She shook her head in exasperation. Well, she supposed it was only normal, he HAD been pacing nervously around the compound for the better part of the day after all. Yura silently stood up and opened the door, carefully so as to not make sounds that would disturb the room's sleeping occupants, and tiptoed out.

Her brother would be more than enough to handle it if something happenned. It wouldn't hurt if she relaxed for a moment.

Yura strolled around the compound of the japanese style house, admiring the house's distinctive design and it's garden that was filled with various decorative plants with such focus to the exclusion of all other external issues. When she arrived at the garden's side where the Sakura Tree resided, she found Rikuo who was standing in front of the tree with serious and tense face, staring at it hard as if something would come out from it.

The HECK was he doing?

Probably realizing Yura's presence, Rikuo turned his head and blinked innocently.

"Oh, Keikain-san."

Yura facepalmed and sweatdropped.

* * *

><p>After a few tense moments during which an excited Rikuo tried to explain what had happened to a disbelieving Yura, both of the teens sat idly on the wooden floor, staring blankly at the magnificently blooming sakura tree in front of them. The night's breeze blew softly, scattering the sakura petals at them. Yura took a petal that stuck on her nose and stared at it.<p>

"…So, you saw a fragment of your lost memories when you touched the tree?" Yura asked again, wanting confirmation about what she had just heard. Rikuo nodded.

"Yeah, but the second time I tried to touch it, a pentacle showed up and… rejected me," he said with a sigh. "That pentacle… it looked like an onmyouji's seal, though rather than trapping youkai, it… rejected. If you know what I mean." Yura stared at him, then stared at the sakura tree.

"I don't know much of this," Yura said slowly. "But about that pentacle… Omyoujis like me and nii-chan usually use summoned familliars. Mikos on the other hand use seals and ceremonies to activate their abilities. That pentacle sounds like something Tsurara would use. So… maybe you should ask her about it."

Rikuo frowned and looked at her.

"Speaking of which… how is she?" Rikuo asked, his voice full of concern. Yura glanced at him.

"Still unconcious, but she's fine," she answered calmly. Rikuo stared at her, before he nodded and averted his gaze back at the sakura tree. There was a moment of silence, before Rikuo asked again.

"Keikain-san, how long have you known Tsurara?" Yura raised her eyebrows at the random question.

"Around 7 years. Why?"

"Do you know… much about her?" Rikuo asked, his voice just above whisper. Yura stayed silent, staring at him for a moment before she sighed.

"I won't and can't tell you about why she went berserk," Yura said, making Rikuo hang his head a little. "What I can say… is that she has no father, or to be more accurate, Tsurara is actually an orphan." Rikuo lifted his head with his eyes widened.

"Orphan?" Yura nodded sadly.

"Her mother died, around… four years ago? As for her father, I've never met him," Yura said. "Her father is probably already gone, where, I do not know, maybe he has passed on, I'm not sure if Tsurara has seen or even knows about him." Rikuo raised his eyebrows then gazed blankly at the tree.

'_So Tsurara is fatherless like me._ _Even worse, she doesn't have a mother either, not like Kaa-san who is as healthy as ever_.' He realized that the slight yet cheerful girl was far stronger then he believed he was. He didn't know what he would do if he lost even his mother. Then again, anyone would be, being an orphan in a pretty young age was not an easy thing to bear. Rikuo had always lived in a lively mansion, so much so that he couldn't even picture out how it would be to live alone.

"Well anyway…" Yura stood up. "I suggest you just don't try too hard, lost memories sometimes came back by itself at certain times." Rikuo smiled bitterly, knowing it would not. Not in his case, especially since it has already been 8 years and his memories still refused to cooperate.

"Thanks for the concern. I'll try not to," Rikuo said, waving his hand dismissingly at her. Yura spared him a glance before she walked away, probably to go back to Tsurara's room, leaving Rikuo all alone again.

Rikuo took a sip of his tea. Even if Yura had told him not to try too hard, his curiousity about his Father burned relentlessly. He gazed determinedly at the Sakura tree.

He would discover the secret key of his memories and its connection to the tree. He _would _recover those lost memories, no matter what.

* * *

><p>Wakana was walking in the corridor of the Main House, carrying a bucket full of laundry with her. Since most of the helpful youkai in the Main House were currently out, because Karasu-Tengu forced them to search for Rikuo, she had to do all the laundry all by herself. Although, she had to admit, it wasn't too much of a burden since she liked to keep her hands busy.<p>

'_Karasu-Tengu is too overprotective…'_ Wakana giggled when she remembered the time when Karasu-Tengu had flown around the house in panic in order to search for Rikuo like a chicken with its head cut off. His resemblance to said chicken maid the metaphor even funnier and the young lady of the house giggled harder. Even her, Rikuo's mother, hadn't react so badly over something like that. Rikuo was already 13 years old and Wakana trusted that he could take care of himself. It wasn't like Rikuo was any normal human, after all.

When a sakura petal landed in front of her, she stopped and turned her head, facing the Nura's sakura tree in front of her. The night breeze blew softly, fluttering Wakana's brown locks a bit.

_Sakura…_ Those pink petals… Those beautifully blooming flowers… Tainted by the blood of 'that day' memory.

"Rihan-sama_…_" Wakana gazed sadly at the sakura tree. Sakura reminded her of 'that day', when 'that incident' occurred. The unfortunate incident that happened because of their carelessness… resulting Rihan's death, and _those children'_s trauma.

_Rikuo…_ "He has become much like you…" Wakana smiled. "He's still oblivious about that day's details, but he seems like he never gave up to know." Wakana's eyes softened. She stood there silently in front of the sakura tree.

"I hope that Rikuo could just forget about 'that day'…" she whispered to herself.

_That bitter memory, of a sad and sorrowful truth they tried to keep away from him._ "For his sake… and _that child_'s sake…"

* * *

><p>H-how's that? I hope its good enough to satisfy you. Don't mind with the cliff-hanger, do you?<p>

For an apology, I'll accept a request to make a **one-shot** story. Just one story okay? I'll choose from the reviews. Say what kind of story you want me to do, pairings or not.

Thanks to all **Alerters, Reviewers, **and **Favoriters****.**

I love you guys so much.

See you next time~


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